Fun Facts About Dogs

Think you know everything there is to know about dogs? Here are some fun facts about dogs that may come as a surprise!

Puppies

Both wolves and dogs are essentially blind until they are about a month old. Even so, wolf puppies begin to walk and explore when they are about two weeks old while dog pups don’t show these behaviors until they are four weeks old.

Even as puppies, breeds show large differences in behavior. For example, beagles and cocker spaniel puppies almost never argue over food, while shelties fight like crazy for five weeks and then suddenly quit. Basenji litter mates are aggressive and continue to fight with each other for a year.

Dalmation puppies are born all white and they develop their spots as they get older.

One female dog and her female children could produce 4,372 puppies in seven years.

Dogs Versus Humans

Both humans and dogs dream during the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase of sleep. If you see your dog twitch or move his paws, he may be dreaming.

We sweat through many glands in our body while dogs only sweat through their paws.

A dog’s normal temperature is between 101 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. A human’s normal body temperature is 98.6F.

Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds whereas humans have approximately 9,000.

A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times better than ours.

We hear at about 2,000 Hz whereas dogs can hear at 8,000 Hz.

We have one eyelid but dogs have three. The third lid, called a nictitating membrane or “haw,” keeps the eye lubricated and protected.

Just like we each have one-of-a-kind finger prints, dogs have unique nose prints.

Dogs in General

Despite all the research, no one knows if dogs feel emotions like guilt, empathy or fairness. Does your dog hang his head after he has done something wrong? Don’t know if he is feeling “guilty” or just knows he was “bad”.

It pays to be small. Three dogs (from First Class cabins!) survived the sinking of the Titanic – twoPomeranians and one Pekingese.

Dogs have special night vision through their tapetum lucidum.

Why do dogs often curl up in a ball when they sleep? It stems from their age old desire to protect their abdomen and other vital organs from predators.

Ever wonder where the phrase “raining cats and dogs” came from? It originated in seventeenth-century England. During heavy rainstorms, many homeless animals would drown and float down the streets, making it seem like it had actually rained cats and dogs.

The most dogs ever owned by one person were 5,000 Mastiffs owned by Kublai Khan.

The name of the dog on the Cracker Jacks box is Bingo. The Taco Bell Chihuahua is a rescued dog named Gidget.

The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world. France has the second highest.

Despite the myth, dogs are not color blind. They can see in color, though they most likely see colors similar to a color-blind human. They can see better when the light is low.

The average dog can run about 19 mph. Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on Earth and can run at speeds of 45 mph.